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TL 9000 Quality Management System Measurements Handbook FR Examples

Copyright 2011 QuEST Forum Version 1.3

Field Return (FR) Examples

7 FR Examples
7.1 Basic Calculations
Example 7.1-1 Each month the reporting organization reports the FRU return measures for the month based on all returns received during the month and the field population of units at the end of the prior month. The returns and population numbers are split into three separate groups depending on the age of the units. As an example, suppose during January 2010 there were a total of 355 returns received out of a total population of 186,914 units. Of the 355 returns, 153 were shipped during the month or the prior six months. In other words, 153 of the units were shipped on or after July 1, 2009. Likewise, 163 of the returns were 7 to 18 months old having originally been shipped between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. This leaves 39 units returned out of the long-term population, which are units shipped prior to July 1, 2008. Similarly the total population numbers are split into the three age groups. For purposes of this example, let us set these at 57,288, 99,626, and 30,000 units respectively for the ERI, YRR, and LTR subsets of the population. In tabular form the data for the month is: ERI Returns Population 153 57,288 YRR 163 99,626 LTR 39 30,000 Total 355 186,914

The resulting calculations for the month are Early Return Index Returns from units shipped Jul-09 through Jan-10 100 x 12 x Total shipments for Jul-09 through Dec-09 100 x 12 x FRri/FRsi 100 x 12 x 153/57288 3.20% Returns of units shipped Jul-08 through Jun-09 100 x 12 x Total Shipments for Jul-08 through Jun-09 100 x 12 x FRry/FRsy 100 x 12 x 163/99626 1.96%

= = = =

One-Year Return = Rate = = =

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FR Examples 7-1

Field Return (FR) Examples

Long-Term Return = Rate = = =

Returns from shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x Total Shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x FRrt/FRst 100 x 12 x 39/30000 1.56%

More detailed examples using these same numbers are shown in 7.2 and 7.3 below.

7.2 Examples Without Normalization

1) Early Return Index, One-Year Return Rate and Long-Term Return Rate In a given reporting month, all returns are divided into three groups according to when they were shipped. For example, for the reporting month of January 2010, returns are divided into the following groups as illustrated in Figure 7.2-1. Early Returns from units shipped in the period from July 1, 2009, through January 31, 2010. One-Year Returns from units shipped in the period from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Long-Term Returns from units shipped prior to July 1, 2008.
2009 JAN FEB MAR APR One-Year Returns MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP Early Returns OCT NOV DEC 2010 JAN

2007 2008 DEC JAN FEB MAR APR Long-Term Returns

MAY JUN

JUL AUG SEP OCT One-Year Returns

NOV DEC

Figure 7.2-1 Shipping Date Groups for Computing Return Rates

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Table 7.2-2

Example Returns

Returns from Shipment Population by Month Received Shipment Number Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Shipped 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 Jun-08 & 30000 39 44 42 46 31 35 48 36 46 41 32 30 before Jul-08 8253 22 9 11 12 11 10 7 10 8 15 16 5 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 9243 9261 9721 10131 10140 6263 6436 7244 7275 7396 8263 8833 8954 9368 9818 9787 10528 10644 11321 11332 11674 12151 12460 13494 13670 13933 13725 14467 14905 355 335 366 374 398 397 414 445 449 449 476 11 17 19 16 24 11 7 14 10 6 6 14 16 20 39 36 23 5 11 16 13 8 16 11 9 15 9 11 13 12 6 18 24 26 30 33 1 14 17 21 15 17 7 8 12 14 12 12 14 14 15 18 24 20 23 31 5 12 12 15 14 22 9 11 8 10 11 16 12 17 18 7 23 22 25 23 27 2 19 16 17 21 12 9 10 10 9 16 11 12 14 16 15 12 25 22 27 26 33 4 15 16 11 28 19 9 8 15 8 9 7 14 14 6 15 13 15 30 24 20 28 27 1 13 17 14 17 17 9 5 4 10 13 9 14 11 12 17 6 15 18 24 29 26 27 31 1 1 7 19 17 15 13 5 12 6 16 12 15 14 19 16 13 15 15 11 38 26 28 26 35 5 16 16 16 19 24 6 3 7 12 8 14 11 12 12 13 9 16 14 13 17 16 31 28 25 33 4 10 11 18 13 14 3 14 9 11 13 13 10 12 6 6 9 12 19 22 14 19 18 26 32 25 30 4 13 12 17 14 15 6 7 5 11 10 7 11 8 16 19 20 16 14 11 19 19 13 22 35 28 23 34 3 21 17 13 20 14 3 9 12 10 3 13 8 13 11 9 12 11 19 16 12 12 24 15 16 21 32 22 36 4 463

Total Returns Received In Month:

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FR Examples 7-3

Field Return (FR) Examples

Table 7.2-2 shows shipments for July 2008 through December 2010, plus all shipments prior to July 2008. In addition, it shows returns for January 2010 through December 2010, by month of shipment as determined by shipping records. The highlighted first column of data in Table 7.2-2 shows the month of shipment for the 355 returns received during January 2010. For example, in January 2010, 22 returns were received from the 8253 units shipped in July 2008 and 11 returns were received from the 9243 units shipped in August 2008. The Early Return Index, ERI, for the month of January 2010, is calculated as follows. The field population is determined by adding the shipment quantities shown on the left side of Table 7.2-2 for the months of July 2009 through December 2009. Therefore the total shipments are FRsi = 8833+8954+9368+9818+9787+10528 = 57,288. The number of returned units is the total returned from July 2009 through January 2010. Therefore FRri = 14+16+20+39+36+23+5 = 153. Early Return Index Returns of units shipped Jul-09 through Jan-10 = 100 x 12 x Total Shipments for Jul-09 through Dec-09 = 100 x 12 x FRri/FRsi = 100 x 12 x 153/57288 = 3.20% Note that the returns of units shipped in January are included to count all returns during the month and to be alerted to any developing problems. However, shipments during January are excluded because the majority of units shipped in January will not have been placed in operation. The One-Year Return Rate, YRR, for January 2010, is calculated as follows. The field population is determined by adding the shipment quantities shown on the left side of Table 7.2-2 for the months of July 2008 through June 2009. Therefore the total shipments are FRsy = 8253+9243+9261+9721+10131+10140+ 6263+6436+7244+7275+7396+8263 = 99626. The number of returned units is the total returned from units shipped in July 2008 through June 2009. Therefore FRry = 22+11+17+19+16+24+11+7+14+10+6+6 = 163.

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FR Examples 7-4

Field Return (FR) Examples

One-Year Returns of units shipped Jul-08 through Jun-09 Return = 100 x 12 x Rate Total Shipments for Jul-08 through Jun-09 = 100 x 12 x FRry/FRsy = 100 x 12 x 163/99626 = 1.96% The Long Term Return Rate, LTR, for January 2010, is calculated as follows. The field population is determined by summing the shipment quantities shown on the left side of Table 7.2-2 for the months prior to July 2008. Therefore the total shipments are FRst = 30,000. The number of returned units is the total returned from units shipped prior to July 2008. Therefore FRrt = 39. Long-Term Return = Rate = = = Returns from shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x Total Shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x FRrt/FRst 100 x 12 x 39/30000 1.56%

Calculating the return rates for all months in 2010 gives Month in 2010 January February March April May June July August September October November December Early Return One-Year Long-Term Index Return Rate Return Rate 3.20% 1.96% 1.56% 2.80% 1.72% 1.66% 2.66% 1.96% 1.69% 2.44% 1.96% 1.73% 2.74% 1.86% 1.70% 2.57% 1.65% 1.80% 2.69% 1.50% 1.84% 2.80% 1.81% 1.52% 2.47% 1.55% 1.86% 2.39% 1.55% 1.66% 2.39% 1.73% 1.56% 2.14% 1.57% 1.55%

2) Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) Returns Data Table The data reported to the TL 9000 Administrator are shown in Table 7.2-3.

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Field Return (FR) Examples

Table 7.2-3
Identifier Year Month Product Category MeasurementID FRa FRs FRri FRry FRrt FRsi FRsy FRst Value 2010 01 1.1 FR 12 99626 153 163 39 57288 99626 30000

Example 1 FR Data Table Report

7.3

Examples With Normalization

Example 7.3-1 Normalized One-Year Return Rate DSL An organization makes an HDSL transmission system consisting of the following products: i) HDSL Central Office Transceiver Unit (HTU-C) One HTU-C is required per HDSL line deployed. ii) HDSL Remote Transceiver Unit (HTU-R) One HTU-R is required per HDSL line deployed. iii) HDSL Range Extender (HRE) Zero to two HREs may be used per HDSL line deployed. iv) HDSL Fuse / Alarm Controller (HFAC) One HFAC is required per HDSL shelf, which may be used to deploy up to 13 HDSL lines. v) HDSL Central Office Terminal Controller (HCOT-CTL) One HCOT-CTL can control up to 100 shelves. vi) HDSL E220 Shelf One shelf can accommodate up to 13 HDSL transceiver units. Only products i) through v) are field replaceable units. To calculate the NYR, returns are aggregated for the entire HDSL product category and the normalizing factor is applied to the category as a whole: i) HDSL Central Office Transceiver Unit (HTU-C) Returns in the reporting period (one month): 50 Shipments in the basis period (one year): 100,000 ii) HDSL Remote Transceiver Unit (HTU-R) Returns in the reporting period: 40 Shipments in the basis period: 100,000 iii) HDSL Range Extender Returns in the reporting period: 5 Shipments in the basis period: 50,000 iv) HDSL Fuse/Alarm Controller Returns in the reporting period: 3 Shipments in the basis period: 10,000

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Field Return (FR) Examples

v) HDSL Central Office Terminal Controller Returns in the reporting period: Shipments in the basis period:

0 500

The normalizing factor for xDSL products is the number of DSL lines deployed. Since one HTU-C and one HTU-R are required to deploy a single HDSL line, the total number of lines deployed in the basis period is FRs = 100,000. The number of returns from the units shipped in the One-Year basis-shipping period is FRry = 50 + 40 + 5 + 3 + 0 = 98. The normalized One-Year Return Rate is NYR = 12 x FRry/FRs = 12 x 98/100,000 = 0.012 returns / year / DSL line. Example 7.3-2 Normalized One-Year Return Rate Terminations An organization makes a local switch consisting of the following products: i) POTS line card Each POTS line card has 16 POTS lines. ii) Trunk line card Each trunk line card has four trunk lines. iii) ISDN line card Each ISDN line card has eight basic rate ISDN lines, each of which has two terminations. Each ISDN line card has an identical card providing protection for the first card. iv) Miscellaneous circuit packs Besides the previous three circuit packs there are 30 other pack codes. They do not supply termination service, but are needed to support the office. During the basis period for the YRR and NYR, this organization installed one switch with the line cards and other circuit packs listed below. To calculate the YRR and NYR, returns are aggregated for the entire switch and the normalizing factor is applied to the category as a whole. i) POTS Line Card Returns in the reporting period (one month): Shipments in the basis period (one year): Trunk Line Card Returns in the reporting period: Shipments in the basis period:

10 1,000

ii)

5 500

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Field Return (FR) Examples

iii) ISDN Line Card Returns in the reporting period: Shipments in the basis period: Active cards with 1:1 protection: iv) Miscellaneous Circuit Packs Returns in the reporting period: Shipments in the basis period:

2 500 250

2 500

The normalizing factor for Switching and Routing System Elements is one termination. The total of all terminations for this switch is FRs = (1,000 x 16) + (500 x 4) + (250 x 8 x 2) = 22,000. The number for FRUs shipped in the NYR basis-shipping period is FRsy = 1,000 + 500 + 500 + 500 = 2,500 The number of returns is FRry = 10 + 5 + 2 + 2 = 19 The Normalized One-Year Return Rate for the switch circuit pack shipments is NYR = 12 x FRry/FRs = 12 x 19/22,000 = 0.010364 returns / year / termination.

The One-Year Return Rate for the switch is YRR = 100 x 12 x FRry/FRsy = 100 x 12 x 19/2500 = 9.12%.

The data reported to the TL 9000 Administrator are shown in Table 7.3-1. For completeness, the report includes examples of ERI and LTR data, which were not discussed in the example.

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Field Return (FR) Examples

Table 7.3-1
Identifier Year Month Product Category MeasurementID FRa FRs FRri FRry FRrt FRsi FRsy FRst Value 2010 01 1.1 FR 12 22000 14 19 30 1200 2250 4500

FR Data Table Report

Example 7.3-3 Normalized One-Year Return Rate DS1 The following example demonstrates the calculation of NPRs for Product Category 3.2.1.2 Digital Cross Connects where the normalization factor is DS1s. Definitions Please refer to the Glossary for definitions for NYR, Afactor, FRry, FRS, and NU. Example An organization provides a digital cross connect system consisting of the following: 1. 28 DS1 Ports 2. 256 DS3 Ports During the basis period for the Normalized One-Year Return Rate (NYR) this organization installed twenty systems. To calculate the NYR, returns are aggregated for the entire system and the normalizing factor is applied to the overall usable port connections as a whole. Normalization units (NUs) per system = 28 + 256*28 = 7,196
Note: This calculation determines the normalization units for the total number of DS1 Ports

Total NUs = 20 * 7,196 = 143,920 FRU returns in the reporting calendar month = 22

NYR Calculation: Afactor = 12 FRry = 22 FRS = 143,920

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Field Return (FR) Examples

NYR = 12 X FRry/FRS = 12 X (22/143,920) = 12 X 0.000152863 = 0.00183435 returns/ DS1/ Year

7.4

Estimation of Equivalent Number of Normalization Units

a) Problem The normalization factor for the Normalized One-Year Return Rate (NYR) is the number of normalization units that fall within the One-Year Return Rate (YRR) shipment period. This can lead to a problem for mature products. At some point in the life cycle of many products, the new hardware being shipped is used to fill out or expand existing systems and not to create new systems or capacity growth. This can lead to a situation where the product has a substantial YRR Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) population, but few or even no new systems or capacity shipped in the YRR period. This then leads to a greatly distorted normalization factor. It could even become non-reportable if it was zero. The following provides a method to estimate an equivalent FRs for Network Elements of capacity-based normalization using the YRR FRU population. This in turn allows the calculation of a reasonable and comparable NYR figure. b) Solution This method yields an estimated equivalent number of Normalization Units for reporting as the NYR normalization factor (FRs) for products subject to the problem described above. The estimate is based on other TL 9000 data elements. These elements are the number of FRUs in the Early Return Index (ERI), YRR and Long Term Return (LTR) populations and the total number of NEs that make up this overall population. The TL 9000 identifier terms for these values are FRsi (ERI FRUs), FRsy (YRR FRUs), FRst (LTR FRUs), and NPRs (Normalization Units used for NPR Measurement). The estimate itself is straight forward. Examples of its use for two cases, network element based normalization and capacity based normalization, follow. For products where the normalization unit is network elements, first the average number of FRUs per network element is calculated. Then this average is applied to just the YRR FRU population to come up with the equivalent number of YRR network elements that quantity of FRUs represents. The equations for this are: # of FRUs per NE = (FRsi + FRsy + FRst) / NPRs Equivalent NEs = (FRsy) / (# of FRUs per NE) = FRs If the population of network elements being tracked in the NPR measurement is different than the population being tracked by the FRU Return measures, then NPRs will need to be adjusted to account for the total number of network

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FR Examples 7-10

Field Return (FR) Examples

elements included in the overall FR population. One example of this would be where a customer does not return units to the organization for repair, but does send in problem reports. This technique can also be applied when the NYR normalization unit is system. It can be used for those product categories where the NYR normalization unit is network element or system. It can only be used on mature products where new units being shipped are primarily going into existing systems. Example 7.4-1 ERI, YRR, and LTR FRU populations are 5,000 (FRsi), 10,000 (FRsy) and 185,000 (FRst) units respectively. The total count for the network elements included in the FR population is 500 (NPRs). The number of FRUs per NE is therefore # of FRUs per NE = (5000+10000+185000)/500 = 400 FRUs/NE The equivalent number of NEs that may be used for FRs is: Equivalent NEs = 10000/400 = 25 NEs (FRs) To get the average number of FRUs per NU for products that use capacity-based normalization units (e.g., terminations, OC-1, DSL), the total number of FRUs is calculated as before and divided by the sum of the rated capacities of each FRU shipped over the life of the product. This number when divided into the number of FRUs shipped over the basis shipping period for the reporting month (FRsy) results in an estimated value of FRs for use in the NYR calculation. The Organization should already know the capacities of each FRU to perform the FRs calculation for those product categories. # of FRUs Per NU = (FRsi + FRsy + FRst) / (Total NU Capacity of Shipped FRUs) Estimated FRs = (FRsy) / (# of FRUs Per NU) Example 7.4-2 ERI, YRR, and LTR FRU populations are 500 (FRsi), 2,500 (FRsy) and 297,000 (FRst) units respectively. The total count for the capacity based normalization units included in the FR population is 3,000,000 (NPRs). The number of FRUs per NU is therefore # of FRUs per NU = (500+2500+297000)/3000000 = 0.10 FRUs/NU The equivalent number of NUs that may be used for FRs is:

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Field Return (FR) Examples

Equivalent NEs = 2500/0.10 = 25000 NEs (FRs)

7.5

Accounting for Decommissioned Units

As noted in rule 7.1.4 c) 6), the organization is required to exclude from the FR measurement units that have been taken out of service. This is important to keep the FR calculations as accurate as possible. Since decommissioned products most often occur in the LTR segment of the populations, the following example shows how to account for the impact on LTR. The same methodology would apply to any of the FR measures. Using the data from the earlier LTR example, lets suppose that a customer has notified the organization that it is replacing an older product with the latest generation equipment. As of January 2010, 3000 units shipped prior to eighteen months ago have been removed from the field and decommissioned. In January 2010 there were also three earlier returns from this population that had been received in the month. The LTR data for the month would then need to be adjusted to reflect these quantities as shown in the table and calculation below.

Table 7.5-1 LTR Data for January 2010 LTR Shipped Returns Population Long-Term Return = Rate = = = 39 30,000 LTR Decommissioned 3 3,000 Total In Field 36 27,000

Returns from shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x Total Shipments prior to Jul-08 100 x 12 x FRrt/FRst 100 x 12 x 36/27000 1.33%

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FR Examples 7-12